Methods of assaying farnesyl transferase

ABSTRACT

Disclosed are methods and compositions for the identification, characterization and inhibition of farnesyl protein transferases, enzymes involved in the farnesylation of various cellular proteins, including cancer related ras proteins such as p21 ras . One farnesyl protein transferase which is disclosed herein exhibits a molecular weight of between about 70,000 and about 100,000 upon gel exclusion chromatography. The enzyme appears to comprise one or two subunits of approximately 50 kDa each. Methods are disclosed for assay and purification of the enzyme, as well as procedures for using the purified enzyme in screening protocols for the identification of possible anticancer agents which inhibit the enzyme and thereby prevent expression of proteins such as p21 ras . Also disclosed is a families of compounds which act either as false substrates for the enzyme or as pure inhibitors and can therefore be employed for inhibition of the enzyme. The most potent inhibitors are ones in which phenylalanine occurs at the third position of a tetrapeptide whose amino terminus is cysteine.

This is a divisional of co-pending application Ser. No. 07/937,893,filed Dec. 22, 1992, which is US nationalization of PCT applicationPCT/US91/02650, filed Apr. 18, 1991, which PCT application is acontinuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 07/615,715, filed Nov. 20,1990, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,141,851, which is a continuation-in-part ofapplication Ser. No. 07/510,706, filed Apr. 18, 1990, abandoned.

This application is a continuation-in-part of copending U.S. Ser. No.615,715, filed Nov. 20, 1990, which was a continuation-in-part of U.S.Ser. No. 510,706, filed Apr. 18, 1990.

The government may own certain rights in the present invention pursuantto NIH grant number 5-PO1-HL20948.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to the identification and characterization of anenzyme involved in expression of the cancer phenotype, as well as to theidentification and selection of compounds for its inhibition. Inparticular aspects, the invention relates to farnesyl proteintransferase enzymes which are involved in, among other things, thetransfer of farnesyl groups to oncogenic ras protein.

2. Description of the Related art

In recent years, some progress has been made in the elucidation ofcellular events lending to the development or progression of varioustypes of cancers. A great amount of research has centered on identifyinggenes which are altered or mutated in cancer relative to normal cells.In fact, genetic research has led to the identification of a variety ofgene families in which mutations can lead to the development of a widevariety of tumors. The ras gene family is a family of closely relatedgenes that frequently contain mutations involved in many human tumors,including tumors of virtually every tumor group (see, e.g., ref. 1 for areview). In fact, altered ras genes are the most frequently identifiedoncogenes in human tumors (2).

The ras gene family comprises three genes, H-ras, K-ras and N-ras, whichencode similar proteins with molecular weights of about 21,000 (2).These proteins, often termed. p21^(ras), comprise a family ofGTP-binding and hydrolyzing proteins that regulate cell growth whenbound to the inner surface of the plasma membrane (3,4). Overproductionof P21^(ras) proteins or mutations that abolish their GTP-ase activitylead to uncontrolled cell division (5). However, the transformingactivity of ras is dependent on the localization of the protein tomembranes, a property thought to be conferred by the addition offarnesyl groups (3,6).

A precedent for the covalent isoprenylation of proteins had beenestablished about a decade ago when peptide mating factors secreted byseveral fungi were shown to contain a farnesyl group attached inthioether linkage to the C-terminal cysteine (7-9). Subsequent studieswith the mating a-factor from Saccharomyces cerevisiae and farnesylatedproteins from animal cells have clarified the mechanism offarnesylation. In each of these proteins the farnesylated cysteine isinitially the fourth residue from the C terminus (see refs. 3, 4 and10). Immediately after translation, in a sequence of events whose orderis not yet totally established, a farnesyl group is attached to thiscysteine, the protein is cleaved on the C-terminal side of this residue,and the free COOH group of the cysteine is methylated (3, 10, 11, 12).All of these reactions are required for the secretion of active a-factorin Saccharomyces (4).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Most, if not all, of the known p21^(ras) proteins contain the cysteineprerequisite, which is processed by farnesylation, proteolysis andCOOH-methylation, just as with the yeast mating factor (3, 4, 10, 11,12). The farnesylated p21^(ras) binds loosely to the plasma membrane,from which most of it can be released with salt (3). After binding tothe membrane, some P21^(ras) proteins are further modified by theaddition of palmitate in thioester linkage to cysteines near thefarnesylated C-terminal cysteine (3) Palmitylation renders the proteineven more hydrophobic and anchors it more tightly to the plasmamembrane.

However, although it appears to be clear that farnesylation is a keyevent in ras-related cancer development, prior to now, the nature ofthis event has remained obscure. Nothing has been known previously, forexample, of the nature of the enzyme or enzymes which may be involved inras tumorigenesis or required by the tumor cell to achievefarnesylation. If the mechanisms that underlie farnesylation ofcancer-related proteins such as P21^(ras) could be elucidated, thenprocedures and perhaps even pharmacologic agents could be developed inan attempt to control or inhibit expression of the oncogenic phenotypein a wide variety of cancers. It goes without saying that suchdiscoveries would be of pioneering proportions in cancer therapy.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention addresses one or more short-comings in the priorart through the identification and characterization of an enzyme, termedfarnesyl:protein transferase, involved in the oncogenic process throughthe transfer of farnesyl groups to various proteins, including oncogenicras proteins. Further, the present invention provides novel compounds,including proteins and peptides, that are capable of inhibiting thefarnesyl:protein transferase enzyme.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide readymeans for obtaining farnesyl transferase enzymes from tissues of choiceusing techniques which are proposed to be generally applicable to allsuch farnesyl protein transferases.

It is an additional object of the invention to provide means forobtaining these enzymes in a relatively purified form, allowing theiruse in predictive assays for identifying compounds having the ability toreduce the activity of or inhibit the farnesyl transferase activity,particularly in the context of p21^(ras) proteins.

It is a still further object of the invention to identify classes ofcompounds which demonstrate farnesyl transferase inhibiting activity,along with a potential application of these compounds in the treatmentof cancer, particularly ras-related cancers.

Farneayl:Protein Transferase Enzyme

Accordingly, in certain embodiments, the present invention relates tocompositions which include a purified farnesyl protein transferaseenzyme, characterized as follows:

a) capable of catalyzing the transfer of farnesyl to a protein orpeptide having a farnesyl acceptor moiety;

b) capable of binding to an affinity chromatography medium comprised ofTKCVIM coupled to a suitable matrix;

c) exhibiting a molecular weight of between about 70,000 and about100,000 upon gel filtration chromatography; and

d) having a farnesyl transferase activity that is capable of beinginhibited by one of the following peptides:

i) TKCVIM;

ii) CVIM; or

iii) KKSKTKCVIM.

As used. herein, the phrase “capable of catalyzing the transfer offarnesol to a protein or peptide having a farnesyl acceptor moiety,” isintended to refer to the functional attributes of farnesyl transferaseenzymes of the present invention, which catalyze the transfer offarnesol, typically in the form of all-trans farnesol, from all-transfarnesyl pyrophosphate to proteins which have a sequence recognized bythe enzyme for attachment of the farnesyl moieties. Thus, the term“farnesyl acceptor moiety” is intended to refer to any sequence,typically a short amino acid recognition sequence, which is recognizedby the enzyme and to which a farnesyl group will be attached by such anenzyme.

Farnesyl acceptor moieties have been characterized by others in variousproteins as a four amino acid sequence found at the carboxy terminus oftarget proteins. This four amino acid sequence has been characterized as-C-A-A-X, wherein “C” is a cysteine residue, “A” refers to any aliphaticamino acid, and “X” refers to any amino acid. of course, the term“aliphatic amino acid” is well-known in the art to mean any amino acidhaving an aliphatic side chain, such as, for example, leucine,isoleucine, alanine, methionine, valine, etc. While the most preferredaliphatic amino acids, for the purposes of the present invention includevaline and isoleucine, it is believed that virtually any aliphatic aminoacids in the designated position can be recognized within the farnesylacceptor moiety. In addition, the enzyme has been shown to recognize apeptide containing a hydroxylated amino acid (serine) in place of analiphatic amino acid (CSIM). Of course, principal examples of proteinsor peptides having a farnesyl acceptor moiety, for the purposes of thepresent invention, will be the p21^(ras) proteins, includingp21^(H-ras), p21^(K-rasA), p21^(K-rasB) and p21^(N-ras.) Thus, in lightof the present disclosure, a wide variety of peptidyl sequences having afarnesyl acceptor moiety will become apparent.

As outlined above, the inventors have discovered that the farnesyltransferase enzyme is capable of binding to an affinity chromatographymedium comprised of the peptide TKCVIM, coupled to a suitable matrix.This feature of the farnesyl transferase enzyme was discovered by thepresent inventors in developing techniques for its isolation.Surprisingly, it has been found that the coupling of a peptide such asone which includes CVIM, as does TKCVIM, to a suitable chromatographymatrix allows for the purification of the protein to a significantdegree, presumably through interaction and binding of the enzyme to thepeptidal sequence. A basis for this interaction could be posited as dueto the apparent presence of a farnesyl acceptor moiety within thispeptide.

The phrase “capable of binding to an affinity chromatography mediumcomprised of TKCVIM coupled to a suitable matrix,” is intended to referto the ability of the protein to bind to such a medium under conditionsas specified herein below. There will, of course, be conditions, such aswhen the pH is below 6.0, wherein the farnesyl transferase enzyme willnot bind effectively to such a matrix. However, through practice of thetechniques disclosed herein, one will be enabled to achieve thisimportant objective.

There are numerous chromatography matrixes which are known in the artthat can be applied to the practice of this invention. The inventorsprefer to use activated CH-Sepharose 4B, to which peptides such asTKCVIM, or which incorporate the CVIM structure, can be readily attachedand washed with little difficulty. However, the present invention is byno means limited to the use of CH-Sepharose 4B, and includes within itsintended scope the use of any suitable matrix for performing affinitychromatography known in the art. Examples include solid matrices withcovalently bound linkers, and the like, as well as matrices that containcovalently associated avidin, which can be used to bind peptides thatcontain biotin.

Farnesyl transferase enzymes of the present invention have typicallybeen found to exhibit a molecular weight of between about 70,000 andabout 100,000 upon gel filtration chromatography. For comparisonpurposes, this molecular weight was identified for farnesyl proteintransferase through the use of a Superose 12 column, using a columnsize, sample load and parameters as described herein below.

It is quite possible, depending on the conditions employed, thatdifferent chromatographic techniques may demonstrate a farnesyltransferase protein that has an apparent molecular weight somewhatdifferent than that identified using the preferred techniques set forthin the examples. It is intended therefore, that the molecular weightdetermination and range identified for farnesyl transferase in theexamples which follow, are designated only with respect to the precisetechniques disclosed herein.

It has been determined that the farnesyl:protein transferase can becharacterized as including two subunits, each having a molecular weightof about 45 to 50 kDa, as estimated by SDS polyacrylamide gelelectrophoresis (PAGE). These subunits have been designated as α and β,with the a subunit migrating slightly higher than the β subunit, whichsuggests that the α subunit may be slightly larger. It has also beenfound that the α and β subunits have different amino acid sequences asdetermined by sequence analysis of tryptic digests prepared from the twopurified proteins, and appear to be produced by separate genes. Thepeptide sequences obtained from the two proteins from rat brain are asfollows:

TABLE I Farnesyl: Protein Transferase Peptide Sequences α subunit: 1) RA E W A D I D P V P Q N D G P S P V V Q I I Y S SEQ ID NO:1 2) D A I E LN A A N Y T V W H F R SEQ ID NO:2 3) N Y Q V W H H R SEQ ID NO:3 4) H FV I S N T T G Y S D SEQ ID NO:4 5) V L V E W L K SEQ ID NO:5 6) L V P HN E S A W N Y L K SEQ ID NO:6 β subunit: 7) A Y C A A S V A S L T N I IT P D L F E SEQ ID NO:7 8) L Q Y L S I A Q SEQ ID NO:8 9) L L Q W V T SSEQ ID NO:9 10) I Q A T T H F L Q K P V P G F E E C^(?)E D A V T SEQ IDNO:10 11) I Q E V F S S Y K SEQ ID NO:11

The inventors have found that the holoenzyme forms a stable complex with[³H]farnesyl pyrophosphate (FPP) that can be isolated by gelelectrophoresis. The [³H]FFP is not covalently bound to the enzyme, andis released unaltered when the enzyme is denatured. When incubated withan acceptor such as p21^(H-ras), the complex transfers [³H]farnesyl fromthe bound [³H]FFP to the ras protein. Furthermore, crosslinking studieshave shown that p21^(H-ras) binds to the β subunit, raising thepossiblity that the [³H]FFP binds to the α subunit. If this is the case,it would invoke a reaction mechanism in which the α subunit act as aprenyl pyrophosphate carrier that delivers FPP to p21^(H-ras), which isbound to the β subunit. Interestingly, the inventors have recenltydiscovered that the a subunit is shared with another prenyltransferase,geranylgeranyltransferase, that attaches 20-carbon geranylgeranyl toras-related proteins.

An additional property discovered for farnesyl transferase enzymes isthat they can be inhibited by peptides or proteins, particularly shortpeptides, which include certain structural features, related in somedegree to the farnesyl acceptor moiety discussed above. As used herein,the word “inhibited” refers to any degree of inhibition and is notlimited for these purposes to only total inhibition. Thus, any degree ofpartial inhibition or relative reduction in farnesyl transferaseactivity is intended to be included within the scope of the term“inhibited.” Inhibition in this context includes the phenomenon by whicha chemical constitutes an alternate substrate for the enzyme, and istherefore farnesylated in preference to the ras protein, as well asinhibition where the compound does not act as an alternate substrate forthe enzyme.

Preparation of Farnesyl:Protein Transferase

The present invention is also concerned with particular techniques forthe identification and isolation of farnesyl transferase enzymes. Animportant feature of the purification scheme disclosed herein involvesthe use of short peptide sequences which the inventors have discoveredwill bind the enzyme, allowing their attachment to chromatographymatrices, such matrices may in turn, be used in connection with affinitychromatography to purify the enzyme to a relative degree. Thus, thepresent invention is concerned with a method of preparing a farnesyltransferase enzyme which includes the steps of:

(a) preparing a cellular extract which includes the enzyme;

(b) subjecting the extract to affinity chromatography on an affinitychromatography medium to bind the enzyme thereto, the medium comprisedof a farnesyl transferase binding peptide coupled to a suitable matrix;

(c) washing the medium to remove impurities; and

(d) eluting the enzyme from the washed medium.

Thus, the first step of the purification protocol involves simplypreparing a cellular extract which includes the enzyme. The inventorshave discovered that the enzyme is soluble in buffers such as low-saltbuffers, and it is proposed that virtually any buffer of this type canbe employed for initial extraction of the protein from a tissue ofchoice. The inventors prefer a 50 mM Tris-chloride, pH 7.5, buffer whichincludes divalent chelator (e.g., 1 mM EDTA, 1 mM EGTA), as well asprotease inhibitors such as PMSF and/or leupeptin. Of course, those ofskill in the art will recognize that a variety of other types of tissueextractants may be employed where desired, so long as the enzyme isextractable in such a buffer and its subsequent activity is notadversely affected to a significant degree.

The type of tissue from which one will seek to obtain the farnesyltransferase enzyme is not believed to be of crucial importance. It is,in fact, believed that farnesyl transferase enzyme is a component ofvirtually all living cells. Therefore, the tissue of choice willtypically be that which is most readily available to the practitioner.In that farnesyl transferase action appears to proceed similarly in mostsystems studied, including, yeast, cultured hamster cells and rat brain,it is believed that this enzyme will exhibit similar qualities,regardless of its source of isolation.

In preferred embodiments, the inventors have isolated the enzyme fromrat brains in that this source is readily available. However, numerousother sources are contemplated to be directly applicable for isolationof the enzyme, including liver, yeast, reticulocytes, and even humanplacenta. Those of skill in the art, in light of the present disclosure,should appreciate that the techniques disclosed herein will be generallyapplicable to all such farnesyl transferases.

After the cell extract is prepared the enzyme is preferably subjected totwo partial purification steps prior to affinity chromatography. Thesesteps comprise preliminary treatment with 30% saturated ammonium sulfatewhich removes certain contaminants by precipitation. This is followed bytreatment with 50% saturated ammonium sulfate, which precipitates thefarnesyl transferase. The pelleted enzyme is then dissolved, preferablyin a solution of 20 mM Tris-chloride (pH 7.5) containing 1 mM DTT and 20μM ZnCl₂. After dialysis against the same buffer the enzyme solution isapplied to an ion exchange column containing an ion exchange resin suchas Mono Q. After washing of the column, the enzyme is eluted with agradient of 0.25-1.0 M NaCl in the same buffer. The enzyme activity ineach fraction is assayed as described below, and the fractionscontaining active enzyme are pooled and applied to the affinity columndescribed below.

It is, of course, recognized that the preliminary purification stepsdescribed above are preferred laboratory procedures that might readilybe replaced with other procedures of equivalent effect such as ionexchange chromatography on other resins or gel filtrationchromatography. Indeed, it is possible that these steps could even beomitted and the crude cell extract might be carried directly to affinitychromatography.

After the preliminary purification steps, the extract may be subjectedto affinity chromatography on an affinity chromatography medium whichincludes a farnesyl transferase binding peptide coupled to a suitablematrix. Typically, preferred farnesyl transferase binding peptides willcomprise a peptide of at least 4 amino acids in length and will includea carboxy terminal sequence of -C-A-A-X, wherein:

C=cysteine;

A=an aliphatic or hydroxy amino acid; and

X=any amino acid.

Preferred binding peptides of the present invention which fall withinthe above general formula include structures such as -C-V-I-M, -C-S-I-Mand -C-A-I-M, all of which structures are found to naturally occur inproteins which are believed to be acted upon by farnesyl proteintransferases in nature. Particularly preferred are relatively shortpeptides, such as on the order of about 4 to 10 amino acids in lengthwhich incorporate one of the foregoing binding sequences. Of particularpreference is the peptide T-K-C-V-I-M which is routinely employed by theinventors in the isolation of farnesyl protein transferase.

The next step in the overall general purification scheme involves simplywashing the medium to remove impurities. That is, after subjecting theextract to affinity chromatography on the affinity matrix, one willdesire to wash the matrix in a manner that will remove the impuritieswhile leaving the farnesyl transferase enzyme relatively intact on themedium. A variety of techniques are known in the art for washingmatrices such as the one employed herein, and all such washingtechniques are intended to be included within the scope of thisinvention. Of course, for washing purposes, one will not desire toemploy buffers that will release or otherwise alter or denature theenzyme. Thus, one will typically want to employ buffers which containnon-denaturing detergents such as octylglucoside buffers, but will wantto avoid buffers containing, e.g., chaotropic reagents which serve todenature proteins, as well as buffers of low pH (e.g., less than 7), orof high ionic strength (e.g., greater than 1.0M), as these buffers tendto elute the bound enzyme from the affinity matrix.

After the matrix-bound enzyme has been sufficiently washed, for examplein a medium-ionic strength buffer at essentially neutral pH, thespecifically bound material can be eluted from the column by using asimilar buffer but of reduced pH (for example, a pH of between about 4and 5.5). At this pH, the enzyme will typically be found to elute fromthe preferred affinity matrices disclosed in more detail hereinbelow.

While it is believed that advantages in accordance with the inventioncan be realized simply through affinity chromatography techniques,additional benefits will be achieved through the application ofadditional purification techniques, such as gel filtration techniques.For example, the inventors have discovered that Sephacryl S-200 highresolution gel columns can be employed with significant benefit in termsof protein purification. However, the present disclosure is by no meanslimited to the use of Sephacryl S-200, and it is believed that virtuallyany type of gel filtration arrangement can be employed with some degreeof benefit. For example, one may wish to use techniques such as gelfiltration, employing media such as Superose, Agarose, or even Sephadex.

Through the application of various of the foregoing approaches, theinventors have successfully achieved farnesyl transferase enzymecompositions of relatively high specific activity, measured in terms ofability to transfer farnesol from farnesyl pyrophosphate. For thepurposes of the present invention, one unit of activity is defined asthe amount of enzyme that transfers 1 pmol of farnesol from farnesylpyrophosphate (FPP) into acid-precipitable p21^(H-ras) per hour underthe conditions set forth in the Examples. Thus, in preferred embodimentsthe present invention is concerned with compositions of farnesyltransferase which include a specific activity of between about 5 andabout 10 units/mg of protein. In more preferred embodiments, the presentinvention is concerned with compositions which exhibit a farnesyltransferase specific activity of between about 500 and about 600,000units/mg of protein. Thus, in terms of the unit definition set forthabove, the inventors have been able to achieve compositions having aspecific activity of up to about 600,000 units/mg using techniquesdisclosed herein.

Of principal importance to the present invention is the discovery thatproteins or peptides which incorporate a farnesyl acceptor sequence,such as one of the farnesyl acceptor sequences discussed above, functionas inhibitors of farnesyl:protein transferase, and therefore may serveas a basis for anticancer therapy. In particular, it has been found thatfarnesyl acceptor peptides can successfully function both as falsesubstrates that serve to inhibit the farnesylation of natural substratessuch as p21^(ras), and as direct inhibitors which are not themselvesfarnesylated. Compounds falling into the latter category areparticularly important in that these compounds are “pure” inhibitorsthat are not consumed by the inhibition reaction and. can continue tofunction as inhibitors. Both types of compounds constitute an extremelyimportant aspect of the invention in that they provide a means forblocking farnesylation of p21^(ras) proteins, for example, in anaffected cell system.

Inhibitors or Farnesyl:Protein Transferase

The farnesyl transferase inhibitor embodiments of the present inventionconcern in a broad sense a peptide or protein other than p21^(ras)proteins, lamin a or lamin b, or yeast mating factor a, which peptide orprotein includes a farnesyl acceptor sequence within its structure andis further capable of inhibiting the farnesylation of p21^(ras) byfarnesyl transferase.

In preferred embodiments, the farnesyl transferase inhibitor of thepresent invention will include a farnesyl acceptor or inhibitory aminoacid sequence having the amino acids -C-A-A-X, wherein:

C=cysteine;

A=any aliphatic, aromatic or hydroxy amino acid; and

X=any amino acid.

Typically, the farnesyl acceptor or inhibitory amino acid sequence willbe positioned at the carboxy terminus of the protein or peptide suchthat the cysteine residue is in the fourth position from the carboxyterminus.

In preferred embodiments, the inhibitor will be a relatively shortpeptide such as a peptide from about 4 to about 10 amino acids inlength. To date, the most preferred inhibitor tested is a tetrapeptidewhich incorporates the -C-A-A-X recognition structure. It is possiblethat even shorter peptides will ultimately be preferred for practice ofthe invention in that the shorter the peptide, the greater the uptake bysuch peptide by biological systems, and the reduced likelihood that sucha peptide will be destroyed or otherwise rendered biologicallyineffective prior to effecting inhibition. However, numerous suitableinhibitory peptides have been prepared and tested by the presentinventors, and shown to inhibit enzymatic activities virtuallycompletely, at reasonable concentrations, e.g., between about 1 and 3 μM(with 50% inhibitions on the order of 0.1 to 0.5 μM).

While, broadly speaking, it is believed that compounds exhibiting anIC₅₀ of between about 0.01 μM and 10 μM will have some utility asfarnesyl transferase inhibitors, the more preferred compounds willexhibit an ICso of between 0.01 μM and 1 μM. The most preferredcompounds will generally have an IC₅₀ of between about 0.01 μM and 0.3μM.

Exemplary peptides which have been prepared, tested and shown to inhibitfarnesyl transferase at an IC₅₀ of between 0.01 and 10 μM include CVIM;KKSKTKCVIM; TKCVIM; RASNRSCAIM; TQSPQNCSIM; CIIM;, CVVM; CVLS; CVLS;CVLM; CAIM; CVLM(SEQ ID NO:12); CCVQ(SEQ ID NO:13); CIIC(SEQ ID NO:14);CIIS(SEQ ID NO15); CVIS(SEQ ID NO:16); CVLS(SEQ ID NO:17); CVIA(SEQ IDNO:18); CVIL(SEQ ID NO:19); CLIL(SEQ ID NO:20); CLLL(SEQ ID NO:21);CTVA(SEQ ID NO:22); CVAM(SEQ ID NO:23); CKIM(SEQ ID NO:24); CLIM(SEQ IDNO:25); CVLM(SEQ ID NO:26); CFIM(SEQ ID NO:27); CVFM(SEQ ID NO:28);CVIF(SEQ ID NO:29); CEIM(SEQ ID NO:30); CGIM(SEQ ID NO:31); CPIM(SEQ IDNO:32); CVYM(SEQ ID NO:33); CVTM(SEQ ID NO:34); CVPM(SEQ ID NO:35);CVSM(SEQ ID NO:36); CVIF(SEQ ID NO:37); CVIV(SEQ ID NO:38); CVIP(SEQ IDNO:39); CVII(SEQ ID NO:40).

A variety of peptides have been synthesized and tested such that now theinventors can point out peptide sequencing having particularly highinhibitory activity, i.e., wherein relatively lower concentrations ofthe peptides will exhibit an equivalent inhibitory activity (IC₅₀).Interestingly, it has been found that slight changes in the sequence ofthe acceptor site can result in loss of inhibitory activity. Thus, whenTKCVIM is changed to TKVCIM, the inhibitory activity of the peptide isreversed. Similarly, when a glycine is substituted for one of thealiphatic amino acids in CAAX, a decrease in inhibitory activity isobserved. However, it is proposed that as long as the general formula asdiscussed above is observed, one will achieve a structure that isinhibitory to farnesyl transferase.

A particularly important discovery is the finding that the incorporationof an aromatic residue such as phenylalanine, tyrosine or tryptophaninto the third position of the CAAX sequence will result in a “pure”inhibitor. As used herein, a “pure” farnesyl:protein transferaseinhibitor is intended to refer to one which does not in itself act as asubstrate for farnesylation by the enzyme. This is particularlyimportant in that the inhibitor is not consumed by the inhibitionprocess, leaving the inhibitor to continue its inhibitory functionunabated. Exemplary compounds which have been tested and found to act aspure inhibitors include CVIF (SEQ ID NO:29), CVFM (SEQ ID NO:28), andCVYM (SEQ ID NO:33). Pure inhibitors will therefore incorporate aninhibitory amino acid sequence rather than an acceptor sequence, withthe inhibitory sequence characterized generally as having an aromaticmoiety associated with the penultimate carboxy terminal amino acid,whether it be an aromatic amino acid or another amino acid which hasbeen modified to incorporate an aromatic structure.

Importantly, the pure inhibitor CVFM is the best inhibitor identified todate by the inventors. It should be noted that the related peptide, CFVM(SEQ ID NO:28) is not a “pure” inhibitor; its inhibitory activity is dueto its action as a substrate for farnesylation.

The potency of CVFM peptides as inhibitors of the enzyme may be enhancedby attaching substituents such as fluoro, chloro or nitro derivatives tothe phenyl ring. An example is parachlorophenylalanine, which has beentested and found to have “pure” inhibitory activity. It may also bepossible to substitute more complex hydrophobic substances for thephenyl group of phenylalanine. These would include naphthyl ringsystems.

The present inventors propose that additional improvements can be madein pharmaceutical embodiments of the inhibitor by including within theirstructure moieties which will improve their hydrophobicity, which it isproposed will improve the uptake of peptidyl structures by cells. Thus,in certain embodiments, it is proposed to add fatty acid orpolyisoprenoid side chains to the inhibitor which, it is believed, willimprove their lipophilic nature and enhance their cellular uptake.

Other possible structural modifications include the addition of benzyl,phenyl or acyl groups to the amino acid structures, preferably at aposition sufficiently removed from the farnesyl acceptor site, such asat the amino terminus of the peptides. It is proposed that suchstructures will serve to improve lypophilicity. In this regard, theinventors have found that N-acetylated and N-octylated peptides such asmodified CVIM retain there much of their inhibitory activity, whereasS-acetoamidated CVIM appears to lose much of its inhibitory activity.

The invention also contemplates that modifications can be made in thestructure of inhibitory proteins or peptides to increase their stabilitywithin the body, such as modifications that will reduce or eliminatetheir susceptibility to degradation, e.g., by proteases. For example,the inventors contemplate that useful structural modifications willinclude the use of amino acids which are less likely to be recognizedand cleaved. by proteases, such as the incorporation of D-amino acids,or amino acids not normally found in proteins such as ornithine ortaurine. Other possible modifications include the cyclization of thepeptide, derivatization of the NH groups of the peptide bonds with acylgroups, etc.

Assays for Farnesyl:Protein Transferase

In still further embodiments, the invention concerns a method forassaying farnesyl transferase activity in a composition. This is animportant aspect of the invention in that such an assay system providesone with not only the ability to follow isolation and purification ofthe enzyme, but it also forms the basis for developing a screening assayfor candidate inhibitors of the enzyme, discussed in more detail below.The assay method generally includes simply determining the ability of acomposition suspected of having farnesyl transferase activity tocatalyze the transfer of farnesol to an acceptor protein or peptide. Asnoted above, a farnesyl acceptor protein or peptide is generally definedas a protein or peptide which will act as a substrate for farnesyltransferase and which includes a recognition site such as -C-A-A-X, asdefined above.

Typically, the assay protocol is carried out using farnesylpyrophosphate as the farnesol donor in the reaction. Thus, one will findparticular benefit in constructing an assay wherein a label is presenton the farnesyl moiety of farnesyl pyrophosphate, in that one canmeasure the appearance of such a label, for example, a radioactivelabel, in the farnesyl acceptor protein or peptide.

As with the characterization of the enzyme discussed above, the farnesylacceptor sequence which are employed in connection with the assay can begenerally defined by -C-A-A-X, with preferred embodiments includingsequences such as -C-V-I-M, -C-S-I-M, -C-A-I-M, etc., all of which havebeen found to serve as useful enzyme substrates. It is believed thatmost proteins or peptides that include a carboxy terminal sequence of-C-A-A-X can be successfully employed in farnesyl protein transferaseassays. For use in the assay a preferred farnesyl acceptor protein orpeptide will be simply a p21^(ras) protein. This is particularly truewhere one seeks to identify inhibitor substances, as discussed in moredetail below, which function either as “false acceptors” in that theydivert farnesylation away from natural substrates by acting assubstrates in and or themselves, or as “pure” inhibitors which are notin themselves farnesylated. The advantage of employing a naturalsubstrate such as p21^(ras) is several fold, but includes the ability toseparate the natural substrate from the false substrate to analyze therelative degrees of farnesylation.

However, for the purposes of simply assaying enzyme specific activity,e.g., assays which do not necessarily involve differential labeling orinhibition studies, one can readily employ short peptides as a farnesylacceptor in such protocols, such as peptides from about 4 to about 10amino acids in length which incorporate the recognition signal at theircarboxy terminus. Exemplary farnesyl acceptor protein or peptidesinclude but are not limited to CVIM; KKSKTKCVIM; TKCVIM; RASNRSCAIM;TQSPQNCSIM; CIIM; CVVM; and CVLS.

Assays for Candidate Substances

In still further embodiments, the present invention concerns a methodfor identifying new farnesyl transferase inhibitory compounds, which maybe termed as “candidate substances.” It is contemplated that thisscreening technique will prove useful in the general identification ofany compound that will serve the purpose of inhibiting farnesyltransferase. It is further contemplated that useful compounds in thisregard will in no way be limited to proteinaceous or peptidyl compounds.In fact, it may prove to be the case that the most useful pharmacologiccompounds for identification through application of the screening assaywill be non-peptidyl in nature and, e.g., which will be recognized andbound by the enzyme, and serve to inactivate the enzyme through a tightbinding or other chemical interaction.

Thus, in these embodiments, the present invention is directed to amethod for determining the ability of a candidate substance to inhibit afarnesyl transferase enzyme, the method including generally the stepsof:

(a) obtaining an enzyme composition comprising a farnesyl transferaseenzyme that is capable of transferring a farnesyl moiety to a farnesylacceptor substance;

(b) admixing a candidate substance with the enzyme composition; and

(c) determining the ability of the farnesyl transferase enzyme totransfer a farnesyl moiety to a farnesyl acceptor substrate in thepresence of the candidate substance.

An important aspect of the candidate substance screening assay hereof isthe ability to prepare a farnesyl transferase enzyme composition in arelative purified form, for example, in a manner as discussed above.This is an important aspect of the candidate substance screening assayin that without at least a relatively purified preparation, one will notbe able to assay specifically for enzyme inhibition, as opposed to theeffects of the inhibition upon other substances in the extract whichthen might affect the enzyme. In any event, the successful isolation ofthe farnesyl transferase enzyme now allows for the first time theability to identify new compounds which can be used for inhibiting thiscancer-related enzyme.

The candidate screening assay is quite simple to set up and perform, andis related in many ways to the assay discussed above for determiningenzyme activity. Thus, after obtaining a relatively purified preparationof the enzyme, one will desire to simply admix a candidate substancewith the enzyme preparation, preferably under conditions which wouldallow the enzyme to perform its farnesyl transferase function but forinclusion of a inhibitory substance. Thus, for example, one willtypically desire to include within the admixture an amount of a knownfarnesyl acceptor substrate such as a p21^(ras) protein. In thisfashion, one can measure the ability of the candidate substance toreduce farnesylation of the farnesyl acceptor substrate relatively inthe presence of the candidate substance.

Accordingly, one will desire to measure or otherwise determine theactivity of the relatively purified enzyme in the absence of the addedcandidate substance relative to the activity in the presence of thecandidate substance in order to assess the relative inhibitorycapability of the candidate substance.

Methods of Inhibiting Parnesyl:Protein Transferase

In still further embodiments, the present invention is concerned with amethod of inhibiting a farnesyl transferase enzyme which includessubjecting the enzyme to an effective concentration of a farnesyltransferase inhibitor such as one of the family of peptidyl compoundsdiscussed above, or with a candidate substance identified in accordancewith the candidate screening assay embodiments. This is, of course, animportant aspect of the invention in that it is believed that byinhibiting the farnesyl transferase enzyme, one will be enabled to treatvarious aspects of cancers, such as ras-related cancers. It is believedthat the use of such inhibitors to block the attachment of farnesylgroups to ras proteins in malignant cells of patients suffering withcancer or pre-cancerous states will serve to treat or palliate thecancer, and may be useful by themselves or in conjunction with othercancer therapies, including chemotherapy, resection, radiation therapy,and the like.

Genes Encoding Farnesyl:Protein Transferase Enzyme

In still further embodiments, the invention relates to the preparationof farnesyl:protein transferase through the application of recombinantDNA technology. The inventors have recently determined the feasibilityof isolating genes encoding one or both of the farnesyl:proteintransferase subunits. It is proposed that such recombinant genes may beemployed for a variety of applications, including, for example, therecombinant production of the subunits themselves or proteins orpeptides whose structure is derived from that of the subunits, in thepreparation of nucleic acid probes or primers, which can, for example,be used in the identification of related gene sequences or studying theexpression of the subunit(s), and the like.

It is proposed that the recombinant cloning of the genes encoding therespective a and P subunits may be achieved most readily through the useof the peptide sequence information set forth above. The direct mannerin which to proceed with such cloning is through the preparation of arecombinant clone bank, preferably cDNA clone bank using poly A⁺ RNAfrom a desired cell source (although it is believed that where desired,one could employ a genomic bank). In that the enzyme appears to befairly ubiquitous in nature, it is believed that virtually anyeukaryotic cell source may be employed for the initial preparation ofRNA. One may mention by way of example, yeast, mammalian, plant,eukaryotic parasites and even viral-infected types of cells as thesource of starting poly A⁺ RNA.

Since the protein was initially purified from a mammalian source (rat),one may find particular advantage in employing a mammalian cell source,such as a rat or human cell line, as an RNA source. It may, however, beadvantageous to first test the cell to be employed to ensure thatrelatively high levels of the enzyme are being produced by the selectedcell line. Rat brain, PC12 (a rat adrenal tumor cell line) and KNRK (anewborn rat kindney cell line) cells are presently the most preferred bythe inventors in that they very high levels of endogenousfarnesyl:protein transferase activity. The inventors have proceeded ininitial studies employing the foregoing cell types as sources of RNA.

It is believed that the type of CDNA clone bank is not particularlycrucial. However, one will likely find particular benefit through thepreparation and use of a phage-based bank, such as λgt10 or λgt11,preferably using a particle packaging system. Phage-based cDNA banks arepreferred because of the large numbers of recombinants that may beprepared and screened will relative ease. The manner in which the cDNAitself is prepared is not believed to be particularly crucial. However,the inventors believe that it may be beneficial to employ the both oligodT as well as randomly primed cDNA in that the size of the mRNA encodingthe farnesyl:protein transferase may be large and thus difficult toreverse transcribe in its entirety.

Once a clone bank has been prepared, it may be screened in a number offashions. For example, one could employ the subunit peptide sequencesset forth above for the preparation of nucleotide probes which may beemployed directly to screen the bank by hybridization screening.However, a more preferred approach is to use the peptide sequences inthe preparation of primers which may be used in PCR-based reactions toamplify and then sequence portions of the selected subunit gene, tothereby confirm the actual underlying DNA sequence, and to preparelonger and more specific probes for screening. These primers may also beemployed for the preparation of cDNA clone banks which are enriched for3′ and/or 5′ sequences. This may be important, e.g., where less than afull length clone is obtained through the initially prepared bank.

Once a positive clone or clones have been obtained, and engineered toensure a full length sequence (if needed and where desired), one mayproceed to prepare an expression system for the recombinant preparationof one or both subunits. It is believed that virtually any expressionsystem may be employed for preparing one or both subunits. For example,it is envisioned that even bacterial expression systems may be employed,e.g., where one envisions using the subunit for its immunologic ratherthan biologic properties. Of course, where a biologically active enzymeis needed, one will prefer to employ a eukaryotic expression systememploying eukaryotic cells, most preferably cotransformed with DNAencoding both subunits.

It is believed that virtually any eukaryotic expression system may beemployed as desired. A preferred system for expression offarnesyl:protein transferase DNA is a cytomegalo virus promoter-basedexpression vector in simian COS cells or human embryonic kidney 293cells, although other systems, including but not limited tobaculovirus-based, glutamine synthase-based or dihydrofolatereductase-based systems may prove to be particularly useful. It isbelieved that once a full length recombinant gene has been obtained,whether it be cDNA based or genomic, then the engineering of such a genefor expression in a prokaryotic or eukaryotic system may be performed bytechniques generally known to those of skill in recombinant expression.

The invention is described in part by reference to the followingfigures:

FIG. 1. Transfer of Farnesol from [³H]FPP to p21^(H-ras) by PartiallyPurified Rat Brain Farnesyl:Protein Transferase. Each standard assaymixture contained 10 pmoles of [³H]FPP and 3.5 μg of partially purifiedfarnesyl transferase in the absence (▴) or presence () of 40 μMp21^(H-ras). Duplicate samples were incubated for the indicated time at37° C., and TCA-precipitable radioactivity was measured as described inthe Examples. The inset shows the migration on a 12% SDS polyacrylamidegel of an aliquot from a reaction carried out for 1 h in the absence orpresence of p21^(H-ras). The gel was treated with Entensify solution(DuPont), dried, and exposed to XAR film for 2 days at −70° C.

FIG. 2. Substrate Saturation Curves for Farnesyl:Protein Transferase.Panel A, each standard reaction mixture contained 1.8 μg of partiallypurified farnesyl transferase, 40 μg p21^(H-ras), [³H]FPP (250,000 dpm);and varying amounts of unlabeled FPP to give the indicated finalconcentration of [³H]FPP. Panel B, each standard reaction mixturecontained 3.2 μg partially purified farnesyl transferase, 10 pmol[³H]FPP, and the indicated concentration of p21^(H-ras) that had beenincubated with 50 μM of the indicated nucleotide for 45 min at 30° C.and then passed through a G-50 Sephadex gel filtration column at roomtemperature in buffer containing 10 mM Tris-chloride (pH 7.7), 1 mMEDTA, 1 mM DTT, and 3 mM MgCl₂. For both panels, assays were carried outin duplicate for 1 h at 37° C., and TCA-precipitable radioactivity wasmeasured as described in the Example.

FIG. 3. Divalent Cation Requirement for Farnesyl:Protein Transferase.Each standard reaction mixture contained 10 pmol [³H]FPP, 2.5 μg ofpartially purified farnesyl transferase, 40 μM p21^(H-ras), 0.15 mMEDTA, and the indicated concentrations of either ZnCl₂ () or MgCl₂ (▴).Incubations were carried out in duplicate for 1 h at 37° C., andTCA-precipitable radioactivity was measured as described in theExamples.

FIG. 4. Identification of [³H]FPP-derived Radioactive MaterialTransferred to p21^(H-ras). Panel A, an aliquot from a standard reactionmixture was subjected to cleavage with methyl iodide as described in theExamples. Panel B, another aliquot was treated identically except methyliodide was omitted. After cleavage, the extracted material was driedunder nitrogen, resuspended in 0.4 ml of 50% (v/v) acetonitrilecontaining 25 mM phosphoric acid and 6 nmoles of each isoprenoidstandard as indicated. The mixture was subjected to reverse phase HPLC(C18, Phenomex) as described by Casey, et al. (6) except that anadditional 10-min wash with 100% acetonitrile/phosphoric acid was used.The isoprenoid standards were identified by absorbance at 205 nm: C₁₀,all-trans geraniol; C₁₅, all-trans farnesol; C₂₀, all-transgeranylgeraniol.

FIG. 5. Chromatography of Farnesyl:Protein Transferase on a Mono QColumn. The 30-50% ammonium sulfate fraction from rat brain (200 mg) wasapplied to a Mono Q column (10×1-cm) equilibrated in 50 mM Tris-chloride(pH 7.5) containing 1 mM DTT, 20 μM ZnCl₂, and 0.05 M NaCl. The columnwas washed with 24 ml of the same buffer containing 0.05 M NaCl,followed by a 24-ml linear gradient from 0.05 to 0.25 M NaCl, followedby a second wash with 24 ml of the same buffer containing 0.25 M NaCl.The enzyme was then eluted with a 112-ml linear gradient of the samebuffer containing 0.25-1.0 M NaCl at a flow rate of 1 ml/min. Fractionsof 4 ml were collected. An aliquot of each fraction (2 μl) was assayedfor farnesyl:protein transferase activity by the standard method (◯).The protein content of each fraction () was estimated from theabsorbance at 280 mM.

FIG. 6A. SDS Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis of Farnesyl:ProteinTransferase at Various Stages of Purification. 10 μg of the 30-50%ammonium sulfate fraction (lane 1), 3 μg of the Mono Q fraction (lane2), and approximately 90 ng of the peptide affinity-column fraction(lane 3) were subjected to SDS-10% polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis,and the protein bands were detected with a silver stain. Thefarnesyl:protein transferase activity in each sample loaded onto the gelwas approximately 0.1, 0.8, and 54 units/lane for lanes 1, 2, and 3,respectively. The molecular weights for marker protein standards areindicated. Conditions of electrophoresis: 10% mini gel run at 30 mA for1 h.

FIG. 6B. SDS Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis of PurifiedFarnesyl:Protein Transferase. 0.7 μg of the peptideaffinity-purified-column fraction (right lane) was subjected to SDS-10%polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and the protein bands were detectedwith a Coomassie Blue Stain. The molecular weights for marker proteinstandards (left lane) are indicated. Conditions of electrophoresis: 10%standard size gel run at 30 mA for 3 h.

FIG. 7. Gel Filtration of Farnesyl:Protein Transferase.Affinity-purified farnesyl transferase (−1 μg protein) was subjected togel filtration on a Superose-12 column (25×0.5-cm) in 50 mMTris-chloride (pH 7.5) containing 0.2 M NaCl, 1 mM DTT, and 0.2%octyl-β-D-glucopyranoside at a flow rate of 0.2 ml/min. Fractions of 0.5ml were collected. Panel A, a 6-μl aliquot of each fraction was assayedfor farnesyl:protein transferase activity by the standard method exceptthat each reaction mixture contained 0.2% octyl-β-D-glucopyranoside. Thecolumn was calibrated with thyroglobulin (670 kDa), γ-globulin (158kDa), ovalbumin (44 kDa), myoglobin (17 kDa), and vitamin B12 (1.35kDa). Arrows indicate the elution position of the 158-kDa and 44-kDamarkers. Panel B, a 0.42-ml aliquot of each fraction was concentrated to40 μl with a Centricon 30 Concentrator (Amicon), and 25 μl of thismaterial was then subjected to electrophoresis on an 10% SDSpolyacrylamide gel. The gel was stained with silver nitrate andcalibrated with marker proteins (far-right lane).

FIG. 8. Inhibition of Farnesyl:Protein Transferase Activity by Peptides.Each standard reaction mixture contained 10 pmol [³H]FPP, 1.8 μg ofpartially purified farnesyl:protein transferase, 40 μM p21^(H-ras), andthe indicated concentration of competitor peptide added in 3 μl of 10 mMDTT. After incubation for 1 h at 37° C., TCA-precipitable radioactivitywas measured as described in Experimental Procedures. Each value is themean of triplicate incubations (no peptide) or a single incubation(+peptide). A blank value of 0.11 pmol/h was determined in a parallelincubation containing 20 mM EDTA. This blank was subtracted from eachvalue before calculating “% of control” values. The “100% of control”value after subtraction of the blank was 3.78 pmol of [³H]FPPp21^(H-ras) formed per h. Peptides Δ, ∘ and ∘ correspond to theCOOH-terminal 10, 6, and 4 amino acids of wild-type human p21^(H-ras)protein, respectively. Peptides □ and ▴ are control peptides.

FIG. 9. Inhibition of Farnesyl:Protein Transferase Activity by Peptides.Incubations were carried out exactly as described in the legend to FIG.8. The “100% of control value” was 2.92 pmol of [³H]farnesyl p21^(H-ras)formed per hour. The blank value was 0.20 pmol/h. Each peptide consistedof the COOH-terminal 10 residues of the indicated protein.

FIG. 10. Inhibition of Farnesyl:Protein Transferase By TetrapeptideAnalogues of CVIM. The standard assay mixture contained 15 pmol [³H]FPP,4 to 7.5 μg partially purified farnesyl transferase, 30 or 40 μMp21^(H-ras), and the indicated concentration of competitor tetrapeptide.After 30 or 60 min, the amount of [³H]farnesyl attached to p21^(H-ras)was measured by trichloracetic acid precipitation as described in themethods section of Example II. Each value is the average of duplicate ortriplicate incubations (no peptide) or a single incubation (+peptide).Each tetrapeptide was tested in a separate experiment together withequivalent concentrations of CVIM. The values for inhibition by CVIM(......) represent mean values from 21 experiments in which the mean“100% of control” value was 13 pmol min⁻¹mg protein⁻¹. K_(i),concentration of tetrapeptide giving 50% inhibition CVIA is SEQ ID NO:18and CVAM is SEQ ID NO:23.

FIG. 11. Inhibition of Farnesyl:Protein Transferase Activity ByPhenylalanine-containing Analogues of CVIM. Enzyme activity was measuredin the presence of the indicated concentration of competitortetrapeptide as described in the legend to FIG. 10 CVFM is SEQ ID NO:28,CFIM is SEQ ID NO:27 and CVIF is SEQ ID NO:29.

FIG. 12. Inhibition of Farnesylation of p21^(H-ras) (A) and BiotinylatedKTSCVIM (SEQ ID NO:41) (B) By CVFM (SEQ ID NO:28). Panel A: Eachreaction mixture contained 15 pmol [³H]FPP, 4.5 or 6 ng of purifiedfarnesyl:protein transferase, 40 μM p21^(H-ras), and the indicatedconcentration of competitor tetrapeptide. After incubation for 30 min at37° C., the amount of [³H]farnesyl transferred to p21^(H-ras) wasmeasured by the standard filter assay. Values shown are the average oftwo experiments. The “100% of control” values were 16 and 19 nmol min⁻¹mg protein⁻¹, Panel B: Each reaction contained 15 pmol [³H]FPP, 4.5 or 6ng of purified farnesyl:protein transferase, 3.4 μM biotinylatedKTSCVIM, and the indicated concentration of competitor tetrapeptide.After incubation for 30 min at 37° C., the [³H]farnesyl-labeled peptidewas trapped on streptavidin-agarose, washed, separated from theunincorporated [³H]FPP, and subjected to scintillation counting. Valuesshown are the mean of 3 experiments. The “100% of control” values were10, 17, and 21 nmol min⁻¹mg protein⁻¹.

FIG. 13. Inhibition of Farnesyl:Protein Transferase By ModifiedTetrapeptides. Enzyme activity was measured in the presence of varyingconcentrations of the indicated tetrapeptide as described in the legendto FIG. 10. The “100% of control” values were 9.3 and 9.2 pmol min⁻¹ mgprotein⁻¹ in Panels A and B, respectively.

FIG. 14. Inhibition of Farnesyl:Protein Transferase By TetrapeptidesWith Single Amino Acid Substitutions in CVIM. Enzyme activity wasmeasured in the presence of the indicated competitor tetrapeptide asdescribed in the legend to FIGS. 10 and 11. Each tetrapeptide was testedat seven different concentrations ranging from 0.01 to 100 μM. Theconcentration of tetrapeptide giving 50% inhibition was calculated fromthe inhibition curve. The single and double underlines denotetetrapeptides corresponding to the COOH-terminal sequence of mammalianand fungal proteins, respectively, that are candidates for farnesylation(see Table III).

FIG. 15. Farnesylation of CVIM but not CVFM by purified farnesyl:proteintransferase. The standard assay mixture (25 μl) contained 17 pmol[³H]FPP (44,000 dpm/pmol), 5 ng of purified farnesyl:proteintransferase, 0.2% (w/v) octyl-β-D-glucoside, and 3.6 μM of the indicatedtetrapeptide. After incubation for 15 min at 37° C., the entire reactionmixture was subjected to thin layer chromatography for 4 h on PolygramSIL G sheet (Brinkmann Instruments) in a solvent system containingN-propanol/concentrated NH₄OH/water (6:3:1). The TLC sheet was thendried, sprayed with ENHANCE Spray (Dupont-New England Nuclear) andexposed to Kodak X-OMAT AR Film XAR-5 for 25 h at −70° C. SVIM is SEQ IDNO:42 and CVFM is SEQ ID NO:28.

FIG. 16. A description of primers proposed for use in the cloning of theα subunit gene. In the Figure, Primer 1 is SEQ ID NO:43; Primer 2 is SEQID NO:45, reading in the direction of the arrow; the amino acid sequenceis SEQ ID NO: 44; and the 38-mer is SEQ ID NO: 46.

FIG. 17. A description of primers proposed for use in the cloning of theβ subunit gene. In the Figure, Primer 1 is SEQ ID NO:47; the longerprimer immediately below in the figure is SEQ ID NO: 48; Primer 2 is SEQID NO:49, reading in the direction of the arrow; the amino acid sequenceis SEQ ID NO: 7; and the 40-mer is SEQ ID NO:50.

The following examples illustrate techniques discovered by the inventorsfor the identification and purification of farnesyl protein transferaseenzyme, as well as techniques for its assay and for the screening of newcompounds which may be employed to inhibit this enzyme. These studiesalso demonstrate a variety of peptidyl compounds which themselves can beemployed to inhibit this enzyme. It should be appreciated by those ofskill in the art that the techniques disclosed in the examples whichfollow represent laboratory techniques discovered by the inventors tofunction well in the practice of the invention, and thus can beconsidered to constitute preferred modes for its practice. However,those of skill in the art should, in light of the present disclosure,appreciate that many changes can be made in the specific embodimentswhich are disclosed and still obtain a like or similar result withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention.

EXAMPLE I Preparation and Characterization of Farnesyl:ProteinTransference

1. Materials

Peptides were obtained from Peninsula Laboratories or otherwisesynthesized by standard techniques. All peptides were purified on HPLC,and their identity was confirmed by amino acid analysis. Just prior touse, each peptide was dissolved at a concentration of 0.8 mM in 10 mMdithiothreitol (DTT), and all dilutions were made in 10 mM DTT.Unlabeled farnesyl pyrophosphate (FPP) was synthesized by the method ofDavisson, et al. (13). [1-³H]Farnesyl pyrophosphate (20 Ci/mmol) wascustom synthesized by New England Nuclear. Geraniol and farnesol (bothall-trans) were obtained from Aldrich Chemical. All-transgeranylgeraniol was a gift of R. Coates (University of Illinois).

Recombinant wild type human p21^(H-ras) protein was produced in abacterial expression system with pAT-rasH (provided by Channing J. Der,La Jolla Cancer Research Foundation, La Jolla, Calif.), an expressionvector based on pXVR (14). The plasmid was transformed into E. coliJM105, and the recombinant p21^(H-ras) protein was purified at 4° C.from a high speed supernatant of the bacterial extracts by sequentialchromatography on DEAE-Sephacel and Sephadex G-75. Purity was −90% asjudged by Coomassie blue staining of SDS gels. Purified p21^(H-ras) wasconcentrated to 15 mg/ml in 10 mM Tris-chloride (pH 7.5) containing 1 mMDTT, 1 mM EDTA, 3 mM MgCl₂, and 30 μM GDP and stored in multiplealiquots at −70° C.

2. Assay for Farnesyl:Protein Transferase Activity

Farnesyl:protein transferase activity was determined by measuring theamount of ³H-farnesol transferred from ³H]farnesyl pyrophosphate([³H]FPP) to p21^(H-ras) protein. The standard reaction mixturecontained the following concentrations of components in a final volumeof 25 μl: 50 mM Tris-chloride (pH 7.5), 50 μM ZnCl₂, 20 mM KCl, 1 mMDTT, and 40 μM p21^(H-ras). The mixture also contained 10 pmoles of[³H]FPP (−30,000 dpm/pmol) and 1.8-3.5 μg of partially purifiedfarnesyl:protein transferase (see below). After incubation for 1 h at37° C. in 12×75-mm borosilicate tubes, the reaction was stopped byaddition of 0.5 ml of 4% SDS and then 0.5 ml of 30% trichloroacetic acid(TCA).

The tubes were vortexed and left on ice for 45-60 min, after which 2 mlof a 6% TCA/2% SDS solution were added. The mixture was filtered on a2.5-cm glass fiber filter with a Hoefer filtration unit (FH 225). Thetubes were rinsed twice with 2 ml of the same solution, and each filterwas washed five times with 2 ml of 6% TCA, dried, and counted in ascintillation counter. One unit of activity is defined as the amount ofenzyme that transfers 1 pmol of [³H]farnesol from [³H]FPP intoacid-precipitable p21^(H-ras) per hour under the standard conditions.

3. Purification of Farnesyl:Protein Transferase

All steps were carried out at 4° C. except where indicated:

Step 1—Ammonium Sulfate Fractionation: Brains from 50 maleSprague-Dawley rats (100-150 g) were homogenized in 100 ml of ice-coldbuffer containing 50 mM Tris-chloride (pH 7.5), 1 mM EDTA, 1 mM EGTA,0.2 mM phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride, and 0.1 mM leupeptin, and theextract was spun at 60,000×g for 70 min. The supernatant was brought to30% saturation with solid ammonium sulfate, stirred for 30 minutes onice, and centrifuged at 12,000×g for 10 min to remove precipitatedproteins. The resulting supernatant was adjusted to 50% saturation withammonium sulfate, and the resulting pellet was dissolved in −20 ml of 20mM Tris-chloride (pH 7.5) containing 1 mM DTT and 20 μM ZnCl₂ anddialyzed for 4 hours against 4 liters of the same buffer and then 4liters of fresh buffer of the same composition for 12 h. The dialyzedmaterial was divided into multiple aliquots and stored at −70° C.

Step 2—Ion-exchange Chromatography: A portion of the 30-50% ammoniumsulfate fraction (200 mg protein) was chromatographed on a Mono Q 10/10column using an FPLC system (Pharmacia LKB Biotechnology). The columnwas run as described in the legend to FIG. 5. Fractions eluting between0.3 and 0.4 M NaCl contained the majority of the transferase activity.These fractions were pooled, divided into multiple aliquots, and storedat −70° C.

Step 3—Affinity Chromatography: An affinity column containing a peptidecorresponding to the COOH-terminal six amino acids of p21^(K-ras-B)protein was prepared as follows. Fifteen mg of the peptide TKCVIM werecoupled to 1 g of activated CH-Sepharose 4B (Pharmacia LKBBiotechnology) according to the manufacturer's instructions. Theresulting 2.5-ml slurry was poured into a column, and excess uncoupledpeptide was removed by 10 cycles of alternating washes, each consistingof 40 column volumes of 0.1 M sodium acetate (pH 4.0) and then 0.1 MTris-chloride (pH 8.0). Both buffers contained 1 M NaCl and 10 mM DTT.The column was stored at 4° C. in 20 mM Tris-chloride (pH 7.2) and 0.02%sodium azide. Fifteen mg of Mono Q-purified material in 10 ml wereapplied to a 1-ml peptide column equilibrated in 50 mM Tris-chloride (pH7.5) containing 0.1 M NaCl and 1 mM DTT (Buffer A). Theenzyme-containing solution was cycled through the column three times atroom temperature. The column was washed with 20 ml of Buffer Acontaining 0.2% (w/v) octyl-β-D-glucopyranoside (Buffer B). The enzymewas eluted with 20 ml of 50 mM Tris-succinate (pH 5.0) containing 1 mMDTT, 0.1 M NaCl, and 0.2% octyl-β-D-glucopyranoside. The pH 5 eluate wasconcentrated and washed twice with a 10-fold excess of Buffer B in aCF25 Centriflo ultrafiltration cone (Amicon) and brought to 1 ml(10-fold concentration relative to the starting material).

Step 4—Gel Filtration: Affinity-purified farnesyl transferase (−1 μg)was chromatographed on a Superose 12 column as described in the legendto FIG. 7.

In the enzyme characterization experiments of FIGS. 1-4, 8, and 9, apartially purified fraction of farnesyl:protein transferase was used.This enzyme was prepared by Steps 1 and 2 as described above, afterwhich 6 mg of the Mono Q-purified material was concentrated to 2 ml andthen loaded onto a 1.6×50-cm Sephacryl S-200 high resolution gelfiltration column (Pharmacia LKB Biotechnology). The column wasequilibrated with 50 mM Tris-chloride (pH 7.5) containing 1 mM DTT, 0.2M NaCl, 20 μM ZnCl₂, and 0.2% octyl-β-glucopyranoside and eluted withthe same buffer at a flow rate of 15 ml/h. Only the peak fraction,containing 1 mg protein and 40% of initial activity, was used forstudies.

4. Identification of ³H-Isoprenoid Transferred from [³H]FPP

A modification of the procedure described by Casey et al. (ref. 6) wasemployed as follows: Briefly, two standard transferase reactions of25-μl each were conducted for 1 hour at 37° C. The mixtures were thenpooled, and a 25-μl aliquot from the 50-μl pooled sample was diluted to250 μl with 2% (w/v) SDS. This mixture was precipitated with an equalvolume of 30% TCA, filtered through nitrocellulose, (7 mm disc), washedtwice with 250 μl 6% TCA/2% SDS followed by five washes with 5% TCA,digested with 8 μg trypsin, and subjected to cleavage with methyliodide. The released ³H-isoprenoids were extracted intochloroform/methanol and chromatographed on a reverse-phase HPLC systemas described in the legend to FIG. 4.

5. Other Methods

SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was carried out as described byLaemmli (16). Gels were calibrated with high range SDS-PAGE standards(Bio-Rad). Protein content of extracts was measured by the method ofLowry, et al. (17) except for that of the affinity-purified material,which was estimated by comparison to the bovine serum albumin marker(M_(r) 66,000) following SDS gel electrophoresis and Coomassie staining.

6. Discussion

As an initial attempt to identify a farnesyl protein transferase enzyme,rat brain cytosol was fractionated with ammonium sulfate and the activefraction subjected to ion exchange chromatography on a Mono Q columnfollowed by gel filtration on Sephacryl S-200. FIG. 1 shows that theactive fraction from this column incorporated radioactivity from[³H]farnesol into trichloroacetic acid precipitable p21^(H-ras) in atime-dependent fashion at 37° C. The incorporated radioactivity could bevisualized as a band of the expected molecular weight of −21 kDa on SDSpolyacrylamide gels (inset). The concentration of [³H]farnesylpyrophosphate that gave half-maximal reaction velocity was approximately0.5 μM (FIG. 2A). The half-maximal concentration for p21^(H-ras) wasapproximately 5 μM, and there was no difference when the p21^(H-ras) wasequilibrated with a nonhydrolyzable GTP or ATP analogue or with GDP(FIG. 2B).

With p21^(H-ras) as a substrate, the transferase reaction was inhibitedby 0.15 mM EDTA, and this inhibition was reversed by 0.1 to 1.0 mMconcentrations of zinc or magnesium chloride (FIG. 3). At higherconcentrations of zinc chloride, inhibition was observed.

To confirm that the transferred material was [³H]farnesol, the washedtrichloracetic acid-precipitated material was digested with trypsin, theradioactivity released with methyl iodide, and the products subjected toreverse-phase HPLC. The methyl iodide-released material co-migrated withan authentic standard of all-trans farnesol (C₁₅) (FIG. 4A). Someradioactivity emerged from the column prior to the geranol standard(C₁₀), but this was the same in the presence and absence of methyliodide treatment. This early-eluting material was believed to representsome tryptic peptides whose radioactivity was not released by methyliodide.

FIG. 5 shows the elution profile of farnesyl transferase activity from aMono Q column. The activity appeared as a single sharp peak that elutedat approximately 0.35 M sodium chloride.

The peak fractions from the Mono Q column were pooled and subjected toaffinity chromatography on a column that contained a covalently-boundpeptide corresponding to the carboxyl-terminal 6-amino acids ofp21^(K-rasB). All of the farnesyl transferase activity was adsorbed tothe column, and about 50% of the applied activity was recovered when thecolumn was eluted with a Tris-succinate buffer at pH 5.

Table II summarizes the results of a typical purification procedure thatstarted with 50 rat brains. After ammonium sulfate precipitation, mono Qchromatography, and affinity chromatography, the farnesyl transferasewas purified approximately 61,000-fold with a yield of 52%. The finalspecific activity was about 600,000 units/mg.

TABLE II PURIFICATION OF FARNESYL:PROTEIN TRANSFERASE FROM RAT BRAINSpecific Total Purifi- Re- Protein Activity Activity cation- coveryFraction mg units/mg units fold % 30-50% 712 9.7^(a) 6906 1 100 AmmoniumSulfate Mono Q 30 275 8250 28 119 Affinity Column 0.006^(b) 600,000 360061,855 52 The purification procedure was started with 50 rat brains.^(a)One unit of enzyme activity is the amount of enzyme that transfers 1pmol of [³H]farnesol from [³H]FFP into acid-precipitable p21^(H-ras) perh under the standard conditions. ^(b)Protein concentration was estimatedby coomassie blue staining of a SDS polyacrylamide gel using variousamounts (0.5 to 2 μg) of bovine serum albumin as a reference standard.

FIG. 6A shows the SDS gel electrophoretic profile of the proteins ateach stage of this purification as visualized by silver staining. Thepeptide affinity column yielded a single protein band with an apparentsubunit molecular weight of 50,000. When the purified enzyme wassubjected to SDS gel electrophoresis under more sensitive conditions,the 50-kDa protein could be resolved into two closely spaced bands thatwere visualized in approximately equimolar amounts (FIG. 6B).

To confirm that the 50-kDa band was the farnesyl transferase enzyme, theaffinity column purified material was subjected to gel filtration. FIG.7 shows that the farnesyl transferase activity and the 50-kDa bandco-eluted from this column at a position corresponding to an apparentmolecular weight of 70-100 kDa as determined from the behavior ofmarkers of known molecular weight.

The adherence of the farnesyl transferase to the peptide affinity columnsuggested that the enzyme was capable of recognizing short peptidesequences. To test for the specificity of this peptide recognition, theability of various peptides to compete with p21^(H-ras) for the farnesyltransferase activity was measured. The peptide that was used foraffinity chromatography corresponded to the carboxyl terminal six aminoacids of P21^(K-rasB) (TKCVIM). As expected, this peptide competitivelyinhibited farnesylation of P21^(H-ras) (open circles in FIG. 8). Theterminal 4-amino acids in this sequence (CVIM) (closed circles) weresufficient for competition. These two short peptides were no lesseffective than a peptide that contained the final 10-amino acids of thesequence (KKSKTKCVIM) (open triangles). The simple transposition of thecysteine from the fourth to the third position from the COOH-terminus ofthe hexapeptide (TKVCIM) (closed triangles) severely reduced inhibitoryactivity. An irrelevant peptide (closed squares) also did not inhibit.

FIG. 9 compares the inhibitory activities of four peptides of 10-aminoacids each, all of which contain a cysteine at the fourth position fromthe COOH-terminus. The peptides corresponding to the COOH-terminus ofhuman p21^(K-rasB) and human lamin A and lamin B all inhibitedfarnesylation. All of these peptides are known to be prenylated in vivo(6, 15). On the other hand, the peptide corresponding to the sequence ofrat Giα1, a 40-kDa G protein that does not appear to be farnesylated invivo (Casey, P., unpublished observations), did not compete for thefarnesyl transferase reaction.

In data not shown it was found that the 10-amino acid peptidecorresponding to the COOH-terminus of p21^(H-ras) (CVIS), p21^(N-ras)(CVVM), and p21^(H-rasA) (CIIM) all competed for the farnesylationreaction.

EXAMPLE II Further Characterization of Farnesyl:Protein Transferase

In the present Example, a series of tetrapeptides were tested for theirability to bind to the rat brain p21^(H-ras) farnesyl:proteintransferase as estimated by their ability to compete with p21^(H-ras) ina farnesyl transfer assay. Peptides with the highest affinity had thestructure Cys-A1-A2-X, where A1 and A2 are aliphatic amino acids and Xis a C-terminal methionine, serine, or phenylalanine. Charged residuesreduced affinity slightly at the A1 position and much more drasticallyat the A2 and X positions. Effective inhibitors included tetrapeptidescorresponding to the COOH-termini of all animal cell proteins known tobe farnesylated. In contrast, the tetrapeptide CAIL, which correspondsto the COOH-terminus of the only known examples of geranylgeranylatedproteins (neural G protein γ subunits) did not compete in the farnesyltransfer assay, suggesting that the two isoprenes are transferred bydifferent enzymes. A biotinylated hexapeptide corresponding to theCOOH-terminus of p21^(K-rasB) was farnesylated, suggesting that at leastsome of the peptides serve as substrates for the transferase. The dataare consistent with a model in which a hydrophobic pocket in thefarnesyl:protein transferase recognizes tetrapeptides throughinteractions with the cysteine and the last two amino acids.

1. Materials and Methods

a. Peptides

Peptides were prepared by established procedures of solid-phasesynthesis (18) Tetrapeptides were synthesized on the Milligen 9050Synthesizer using Fmoc chemistry. After deprotection of the lastresidue, a portion of the resin was used to make the N-acetyl-modifiedversion of CVIM. This was done off-line in a solution of aceticanhydride and dimethylformamide at pH 8 (adjusted withdiisopropylethylamine). The acetylated and unacetylated peptides werecleaved with 50 ml of trifluoroacetic acid:phenol (95:5) plusapproximately 1 ml of ethanedithiol added as a scavenger. TheN-octyl-modified version of CVIM was synthesized on an AppliedBiosystems Model 430 Synthesizer using tBoc chemistry. The octyl groupwas added in an amino acid cycle using octanoic acid. The peptide wascleaved from the resin at 0° C. with a 10:1:1 ratio of HF (mls):resin(g):anisole (ml). The peptides were purified by high pressure liquidchromatography (HPLC) on a Beckman C18 reverse phase column (21.1 cm×15cm), eluted with a water-acetonitrile gradient containing 0.1% (v/v)trifluouroacetic acid. Identity was confirmed for all peptides by fastatom bombardment (FAB) mass spectrometry. Just prior to use, eachpeptide was dissolved at a concentration of 0.8 mM in 10 mMdithiothreitol (DTT), and all dilutions were made in 10 mM DTT.

Biotinylated KTSCVIM was synthesized on an Applied Biosystems 430ASynthesizer. The biotin group was added after removal of the N-terminalprotecting group before cleavage of the peptide from the resin.Specifically, a 4-fold molar excess of biotin 4-nitrophenyl ester wasadded to the 0.5 g resin in 75 ml dimethylformanide at pH 8 and reactedfor 5 h at room temperature. Cleavage, identification, and purificationwere carried out as described above.

To synthesize S-acetoamido CVIM, purified CVIM was dissolved at a finalconcentration of 1 mM in 0.1 ml of 0.5 M Tris-chloride (pH 8.0)containing 15 mM DTT. The tube was flushed with nitrogen for 2 min,sealed, and incubated for 2.5 h at 37° C. to reduce the cysteineresidue, after which iodoacetamide was added to achieve a finalconcentration of 35 mM. After incubation for 15 min at 37° C., thereaction was stopped by addition of 10 mM DTT. Complete alkylation ofCVIM was confirmed by FAB spectrometry and HPLC. The molecular weight ofthe product corresponded to the expected molecular mass of S-acetoamidoCVIM.

b. Assay for Farnesyl:Protein Transferase

The standard assay involved measuring the amount of [³H]farnesyltransferred from all-trans [³H]FPP to recombinant human p21^(H-ras) asdescribed in Example I. Each reaction mixture contained the followingconcentrations of components in a final volume of 25 μl: 50 mMTris-chloride (pH 7.5), 50 μM ZnCl₂, 30 mM KCl, 1 mM DTT, 30 or 40 μMp21^(H-ras), 15 pmol [³H]FPP (12-23,000 dpm/pmol), 4 to 7.5 μg ofpartially purified farnesyl:protein transferase (Mono Q fraction, seeExample I), and the indicated concentration of competitor peptide addedin 3 μl of 10 mM DTT. After incubation for 30-60 min at 37° C., theamount of [³H]farnesyl present in trichloroacetic acid-precipitablep21^(H-ras) was measured by a filter assay as described in Example I. Ablank value (<0.6% of input [³H]FPP) was determined in parallelincubations containing no enzyme. This blank value was subtracted beforecalculating “% of control” values.

c. Transfer of [³H]Farnesyl from [³H]FPP to Biotinylated KTECVIM Peptide

This assay takes advantage of the fact that peptides containing theCys-AAX motif of ras proteins can serve as substrates for prenylation byfarnesyl transferase. A heptapeptide containing the terminal four aminoacids of p21^(K-rasB) was chosen as a model substrate since it has a 20to 40-fold higher affinity for the enzyme than does the COOH-terminalpeptide corresponding to p21^(H-ras). A biotinylated peptide is used assubstrate so that the reaction product, [³H]farnesylated peptide, can betrapped on a solid support such as streptavidinagarose. The bound[³H]farnesylated peptide can then be washed, separated fromunincorporated [³H]FPP, and subjected to scintillation counting.

The biotin-modified KTSCVIM is synthesized on an Applied Biosystems 430ASynthesizer using established procedures of solid phase peptidesynthesis. The biotin group is added after deprotection of lysine andbefore cleavage of the peptide from the resin. The identity and purityof the biotinylated peptide is confirmed by quantitative amino acidanalysis and fast atom bombardment (FAB) mass spectrometry.

An aliquot of biotinylated KTSCVIM (0.4 mg) is dissolved in 0.6 ml of 10mM sodium acetate (pH 3) buffer containing 1 mM DTT and 50% ethanol togive a final concentration of 0.67 mg/ml or 601 μM. This solution can bestored at 4° C. for at least 1 month. Immediately prior to use, thepeptide solution is diluted with 1 mM DTT to achieve a peptideconcentration of 18 μM. The standard reaction mixture contains thefollowing components in a final volume of 25 μl: 50 mM Tris-chloride (pH7.5), 50 μM ZnCl₂, 20 mM KCl, 1 mM DTT, 0.2% (v/v)octyl-β-glucopryranoside, 10-15 pmol of [³H]FPP (15-50,000 dpm/pmol),3.6 μM biotinylated KTSCVIM, and 2-4 units of enzyme. After incubationat 37° C. for 30-60 min in 0.5-ml siliconized microfuge tubes, thereaction is stopped by addition of 200 μl of 20 mM Tris-chloride (pH7.5) buffer containing 2 mg/ml bovine serum albumin, 2% SDS, and 150 mMNaCl. A 25-μl aliquot of well mixed streptavidin-agarose (BethesdaResearch Laboratories, Cat. No. 5942SA) is then added, and the mixtureis gently shaken for 30 min at room temperature to allow maximal bindingof the [³H]farnesylated peptide to the beads.

The beads are then collected by spinning the mixture for 1 min in amicrofuge (12,500 rpm). The supernatant is removed, and the beads arewashed three times with 0.5 ml of 20 mM Tris-chloride (pH 7.5) buffercontaining 2 mg/ml bovine serum albumin, 4% SDS, and 150 mM NaCl. Thepellet is resuspended in 50 μl of the same buffer and transferred to ascintillation vial using a 200-μl pipettor in which the tip end has beencut off at an angle. The beads remaining in the tube are collected byrinsing the tube with 25 μl of the above buffer and adding it plus thepipettor to the vial. A blank value, which consists of the radioactivityadhering to the beads in parallel incubations containing no enzyme,should be less than 0.5% of the input [³H]FPP.

2. Results

To screen peptides for their affinity for the farnesyl:proteintransferase, studies were conducted wherein the ability of the peptidesto compete with p21^(H-ras) for acceptance of [³H]farnesyl from [³H]FPPas catalyzed by a partially purified rat brain farnesyl:proteintransferase was tested. As a reference point for the peptides, thetetrapeptide CVIM corresponding to the COOH-terminal sequence ofp21^(K-rasB) was employed. FIG. 10 shows a series of typical experimentsin which alanine (Panel A), lysine (Panel B), or leucine (Panel C) wassystematically substituted at each of the three positions followingcysteine in CVIM. In each experiment the results were compared withthose obtained with CVIM. Alanine and lysine were tolerated only at theA1 position. Insertion of these amino acids at the A2 or X positionsdecreased the affinity for the enzyme by more than 30-fold as estimatedby the concentration required for 50% inhibition. Leucine was toleratedat the A2 position, but it decreased the affinity when inserted at the Xposition.

The substitution of phenylalanine for isoleucine at the A2 positionincreased the affinity for the enzyme by 6-fold, with half-maximalinhibition occurring at 25 nM (FIG. 11). No such effect was observedwhen phenylalanine was inserted at either of the other two positions.

In addition to performing assays with p21^(H-ras) as a substrate, assayswere also performed in which the substrate was a biotinylatedheptapeptide, KTSCVIM, which contains the COOH-terminal four amino acidsof p21^(H-rasB) (2). The biotin was attached to the NH₂-terminus bycoupling to the resin-attached peptide. The [³H]farnesylated product wasisolated by allowing it to bind to beads coated with streptavidin asdescribed in section c. above.

FIG. 12 shows that the peptide CVFM was more potent than CVIM wheneither p21^(H-ras) or the biotinylated heptapeptide was used as acceptor(Panels A and B, respectively). In contrast to the other studies, whichwere conducted with a partially purified enzyme, the studies of FIG. 12were carried out with a homogeneous preparation of affinity-purifiedfarnesyl:protein transferase.

The free sulfhydryl group for the cysteine is likely required fortetrapeptide inhibition, as indicted by the finding that derivitizationwith iodoacetamide abolished inhibitory activity (FIG. 13A). A blockedNH₂-terminus is not required, as indicated by similar inhibitoryactivity of N-acetyl CVIM and N-octyl CVIM (FIG. 13B) as compared tothat of CVIM (FIG. 13A).

FIG. 14 summarizes the results of all competition assays in whichsubstitutions in the CVIM sequence were made. The results are presentedin terms of the peptide concentration required for 50% inhibition. TableIII summarizes the results of other experiments in which tetrapeptidescorresponding to the COOH-termini of 19 proteins were studied, many ofwhich are known to be farnesylated. The implications of these studiesare discussed below in Section 3.

TABLE III Inhibition of Rat Farnesyl: Protein Transferase byCOOH-Terminal Tetrapeptides Corresponding to Known ProteinsConcentration COOH-Terminal for 50% Inhibition Protein SpeciesTetrapeptide μM *p2^(1K-rasB) Human, mouse CVIM 0.15 *p21^(K-rasA) HumanCIIM 0.15  p21^(N-ras) Human CVVM 0.15  p21^(N-ras) Mouse CVLM 0.15*Lamin B Human, Xenopus laevis CAIM 0.15  Lamin A Human, Xenopus laevisCSIM 0.20  Retinal cGMP Bovine CCVQ 0.35  phosphodies- (SEQ ID NO:13) terase, α-subunit *ras1 S. cerevisciae CIIC 0.35 (SEQ ID NO:14) *ras2S. cerevisciae CIIS 0.35 (SEQ ID NO:15) *γ-Subunit of Bovine CVIS 1.0 transducin (SEQ ID NO:16)  p21^(H-ras) Chicken CVIS 1.0 (SEQ ID NO:16) p21^(H-ras) Human, rat CVLS 3.0 (SEQ ID NO:17) *a-Mating S. cerevisciaeCVIA 5.0  factor (SEQ ID NO:18)  rap2b Human CVIL 11  Dras DictosteliumCLIL 17 (SEQ ID NO:20)  rapla/krevl Human CLLL 22 (SEQ ID NO:21) *Matingfactor R. Toruloide CTVA 30 (SEQ ID NO:22)  γ-Subunit of Bovine CAIL 100 G protein (SEQ ID NO:51)  HMG CoA S. cerevisciae CIKS 100  reductase-1(SEQ ID NO:52) Enzyme activity was measured in the presence of theindicated tetrapeptide as described in the legend to FIG. 10. Eachtetrapeptide was tested at seven different concentrations ranging from0.03 to 100 μM. The concentration giving 50% inhibition was calculatedfrom the inhibition curve. *Shown to be farnesylated in vivo.

3. Discussion

The current data extend the observations on the p21^(ras)farnesyl:protein transferase set forth in Example I, and furtherindicate that the recognition site for this enzyme is restricted to fouramino acids of the Cys-A1-A2-X type. As a reference sequence for thesestudies, the peptide CVIM was used. This peptide inhibited thefarnesyl:protein transferase by 50% at a concentration of 0.15 μM.Substitution of various amino acids into this framework yielded peptidesthat gave 50% inhibitions at a spectrum of concentrations ranging from0.025 μM (CVFM) to greater than 50 μM (FIG. 14).

In general, the highest inhibitory activities were achieved when the A1and A2 positions were occupied with nonpolar aliphatic or aromatic aminoacids. This stringency was more severe at the A2 than at the A1position. Thus, peptides containing lysine or glutamic acid at the A1position gave 50% inhibition at 0.7 and 1.5 μM, respectively. When thesetwo residues were inserted at the A2 position, the affinity for theenzyme declined by more than 50-fold. Glycine and proline loweredinhibitory activity moderately at the A1 position (50% inhibition at 4and 8 μM) and somewhat more severely at the A2 position (8 and 20 μM).

The X position showed the highest stringency. In the context of CVIX,methionine was the preferred residue but phenylalanine and serine weretolerated with only modest losses in activity (0.5 and 1 μM,respectively). Aliphatic resides and proline were disruptive at thisposition, with 50% inhibitions in the range of 5-11 μM. Glutamic acid,lysine, and glycine were not tolerated at all; 50% inhibition requiredconcentrations above 40 μM.

A study of tetrapeptides corresponding to the COOH-termini of knownproteins (Table III) gave results that were generally in keeping withthose obtained with the substituted CVIM peptides. They provided theadditional information that glutamine and cysteineare well tolerated atthe X position (CCVQ (SEQ ID NO:13) and CIIC (SEQ ID NO:14). All of theproteins that are known to be farnesylated in intact cells (indicated bythe asterisks in Table III) followed the rules outlined above, and allinhibited farnesylation at relatively low concentrations (5 μM or below)with the exception of the CTVA (SEQ ID NO:22) sequence, which is foundin the mating factor of R. toruloides (19). This peptide inhibited therat brain farnesyl:protein transferase by 50% only at the highconcentrations of 30 μM. It is likely that the farnesyl:proteintransferase in this fungal species has a different specificity than thatof the rat brain.

The peptide CAIL (SEQ ID NO:51), which corresponds to the COOH-terminusof the γ-subunit of bovine brain G proteins (20,21), did not competeefficiently with p21^(H-ras) for farnesylation (Table III). A 50%inhibition at the highest concentration tested (100 μM) was observed.The inhibitory activity was lower than that of CVIL (12 μM) or CAIM(0.15 μM). Thus, the combination of alanine at the A1 position andleucine at the X position is more detrimental than either singlesubstitution. This finding is particularly relevant since the gammasubunit of G proteins from human brain (22) and rat PC12 cells (23) havebeen shown to contain a geranylgeranyl rather than a farnesyl. Thesefindings suggest the existence of a separate geranylgeranyl transferasethat favors CAIL (SEQ ID NO: 51) and perhaps other related sequences.

The studies with the biotinyated heptapeptide (FIG. 12B) confirm that atleast some of the short peptides act as substrates for the enzyme. Thesaturation curves relating reaction velocity to the concentration ofeither p21^(H-ras) or the biotinylated heptapeptide are complex andsigmoidal. The inhibition curves with the various peptides differ fromclassic competitive inhibition curves. Finally, as mentioned in ExampleI, the maximal velocity of the purified enzyme is relatively low. Thesefindings suggest that the binding of the peptides to the enzyme is not asimple equilibrium reaction. Rather, there may be a slow binding thatrequires conformational change.

The observation that the A1 position shows a relaxed amino acidspecificity suggests that the residue at this position may not contactthe farnesyl:transferase directly. Rather, the contacts may involve onlythe cysteine and the residues at the A2 and X positions. A working modelfor the active site of the farnesyl:protein transferase places thepeptide substrate in an extended conformation with a largely hydrophobicpocket of the enzyme interacting with the X group of the CAAX-containingsubstrate.

EXAMPLE III Recombinant Cloning of the Farmesyl:Protein TransferaseSubunit Genes

This example demonstrates an approach which the inventors propose may beemployed for the recombinant cloning of one or both of thefarnesyl:protein transferase subunits. As will be appreciated by thoseof skill in the art from the following description, the preferredapproach recommended by the inventors involves the application of thepeptide sequence information set forth above to prepare specific primersfor PCR-based sequencing, which sequences are then used for theconstruction of probes for screening. The specific primers proposed foruse are set forth below, with reference to FIGS. 16 and 17.

A. General Methods

The inventors propose that general molecular biology techniques may beemployed in connection with the cloning reactions described below (24).Where desired, cDNA clones may be subcloned into M13 and pUC vectors andsequenced by the dideoxy chain termination method (25) using the M13universal sequencing primer or gene specific internal primers.Sequencing reactions are preferably performed using a modifiedbacteriophage T7 DNA polymerase (26) with ³⁵S-labeled nucleotides, orTaq polymerase with fluorescently labeled nucleotides on an AppliedBiosystems Model 370A DNA Sequencer.

For the isolation of total RNA from rat tissues, the inventors prefer toemploy the guanidinium thiocyanate/CsCl centrifugation procedure (27).For the isolation of RNA from cell lines, the guanidinium HCl method isgenerally preferred (28). The isolation of poly A⁺ RNA byoligo(dT)-cellulose chromatography is preferably by the procedure ofAviv and Leder (29). Northern blot hybridization using single-stranded32P-labeled probes is generally carried out as described by Lehrman etal. (30).

B. cDNA Libraries

For the construction of a cDNA libraries, the inventors propose toemploy poly A⁺ RNA from rat brain, PC12 and/or KNRK cells. These cellsare preferred in that they are believed to be rich in farnesyl:proteintransferase mRNA. Although numerous convenient methods are known for theconstruction of cDNA libraries, the inventors believe that the use of acDNA synthesis kit, e.g., from Invitrogen, is the most convenient. ThecDNA itself is preferably prepared using both oligo(dT)- and randomhexamer-primed cDNA, and then ligated to adapters, e.g., EcoR1/Not1adapters. Next, it will generally be desirable to isolate cDNAs greaterthan 1 kb in size, e.g., by fractionation on a 1% agarose gel, prior toligation to EcoR1-cleaved λgt10 DNA (Stratagene), in order to completethe construction of the cDNA-containing vectors for library preparation.

After in vitro packaging of the recombinant lambda phage with a DNApackaging extract (Stratagene), phage may be plated out on host strainEscherichia coli C600 hf1-cells. Typically, it will be desirable toscreen approximately 1×10⁶ plaques from the random hexamer-primer ratbrain library. To carry out the screening, duplicate filters arehybridized in 6×SSC at 37° C. with about 1×10⁶ cpm/ml of the appropriate³²P-labeled oligonucleotide probe. The polymerase chain reaction may beused to obtain an unambiguous probe for screening of the cDNA library,as well as to characterize positive λ clones, as discussed below.

The filters are washed in 6×SSC (1×SSC=150 mM NaCl, 15 mM sodiumcitrate, pH7) and 0.2% SDS at room temperature. DNA from colonies whichremain positive after a second round of screening are purified andsubcloned into a vector that is suitable for sequencing and restrictionmapping, such as a bacteriophage M13 and/or pBluescript vector.

C. Polymerase Chain Reaction

1. α Subunit

To derive a sequence for constructing an appropriate probe, rat genomicDNA may be used as a template for PCR as described by Saiki et al. (31)and Lee et al. (32). The approach is to sequence a portion of the αsubunit gene through the use of appropriate PCR primers (based on aconsideration of the peptide sequences shown in Table I). The inventorspropose to use primers that are synthesized based on the NH₂- andCOOH-terminal sequences of peptide 2 (see Table I above), and whichinclude the degenerate inosine base (see FIG. 16). PCR primers areend-labeled with [γ-³²P]ATP. The resultant amplified DNA fragment isthen eluted and sequenced, e.g., by the Maxam-Gilbert technique (33).Translation of the nucleotide sequence between two primers should givethe expected amino acid sequence of peptide 2. From this information,one may then synthesize an oligonucleotide probe that will hybridizewith the region corresponding to the peptide 2 coding region, for directscreening of the library.

To characterize hybridizing λgt10 clones, plaques are eluted in 0.2 mlSM buffer (100 mM NaCl, 8 mM MgSO4, 50 mM Tris-HCl pH7.5, and 0.01%(w/v) gelatin). A primer corresponding to the right arm or left arm ofλgt10 sequences flanking the unique EcoR1 site may be used incombination with a primer derived from the cDNA sequence in order toconduct a PCR amplification reaction, which may be carried out by theprocedure of Saiki et al. (31). PCR products may then be analyzed on anagarose gel and the clone containing the longest insert selected andpurified for further characterization.

2. β Subunit

As with the a subunit cloning, the polymerase chain reaction is used toobtain an unambiguous sequence for the peptide and to characterizepositive λ clones. To derive an unambiguous sequences for the peptide,rat genomic DNA is again used as a template for PCR. In this case,though, primers are synthesized based on the NH2- and COOH-terminalsequences of peptide 7 from Table I, and include the degenerate baseinosine (see FIG. 17). As above, one of the PCR primers is end-labeledwith [γ-³²P]ATP. The resultant amplified DNA fragment is then elutedfrom acrylamide gel and sequenced. Translation of the nucleotidesequence between two primers should give the expected amino acidsequence derived from peptide. From this information, one will desire tosynthesize an oligonucleotide primer for use as a hybridization probe.

D. 5′ and 3′ End Amplification

If one obtains a clone that is less than full length, it will, ofcourse, be important to obtain a clone which comprises the missingsequences. This can be done through the preparation of either a 5′ or 3′extended clone, depending on what is needed. To obtain an extendedclone, the general procedures of Frohman et al. (34) are preferablyfollowed that involve a combination of reverse transcription, tailingwith terminal deoxytransferase and, finally, PCR.

1. 5′-End Amplification of cDNA End

Where the clone is deficient in its 5′-end, one will typically desire tocarry out an 5′-end amplification, which may be carried out generally asdescribed by Frohman et al. (34). In general, first strand cDNA isgenerated by reverse transcription of polyA⁺ RNA from, e.g., eitherKNRK, rat brain or PC12 cells, pretreated with methyl mercury and primedwith a 5′-end primer derived from the longest cDNA then available. Thus,in the case of the a subunit, one may desire to employ specific primer 1(TGCAGTGATGTAGTTCAT), which is complementary to amino acids locatedtowards the amino terminal of the alpha subunit.

Excess primer is removed by, e.g., application to a Amicon Centricon 100spin filter and the first strand cDNA tailed with dATP using terminaldeoxynucleotide-transferase (BRL). The reaction mixture is typicallydiluted to 500 μl in TE and 1- to 10-μl aliquots are used foramplification with about 10 pmol of a (dT)17-adaptor oligonucleotidewhich serves to prime off of the dA tail added at the 5′ end of thecDNA, and about 25 pmol of a second specific primer which serves tonarrow the amplification to cDNAs derived from the farnesyl:proteintransferase mRNA, in 50 μl of PCR cocktail. In the case of the asubunit, the inventors propose to use the (dT)17-adaptor primer,GACTCGAGTCGACATCGA(T)17, adaptor primer (GACTCGAGTCGACATCAG) andspecific primer 2 (AGCGACCTCAAGAGAACT) as the second specific primer.

The mixture is denatured (5 min, 95° C.), annealed at 52-58° C., Taq DNApolymerase added, and extended at 72° C. for 40 min. Using a DNA thermalcycler (Perkin-Elmer-Cetus), it is preferable to carry out at least 40cycles of amplification (94° C., 40 sec; 52-58° C., 2 min; 72° C., 3min) followed by a 15 min final extension at 72° C. Amplified PCRproducts may be analyzed by Southern gel analysis. The hybridizing DNAfragments are isolated and used as templates for a second PCRamplification as described above, except for the substitution of about25 pmol of an additional specific primer 3 (such as ATGCCACACCGTATAGTTin the case of subunit α), which further limits the amplification totemplates corresponding to the farnesyl:protein transferase cDNA. Thereamplified DNA may be reprobed by Southern analysis, isolated, treatedwith T4 polynucleotide kinase, and cleaved with PstI for subcloning toM13 and sequencing.

2. 3′-End Amplification of cDNAs

Where resultant clones are found to be deficient in their 3′ sequence,one will desire to carry out 3′-end amplification, such as described byFrohman et al. (34). For reverse transcription, KNRK cell poly(A)+ RNAmay be used as a template and primed with a (dT)17-adaptor. In a 20 μlreaction mixture, 1 μg poly(A)+ RNA, 0.5 μg (dT)17-adaptor and 100 unitsreverse transcriptase (BRL) are incubated at 37° C. for 1 hr. Reversetranscribed cDNA is diluted 50 fold with TE (10 mM Tris-HCl, pH8.0 and 1mM EDTA) for PCR amplification.

As an example, in the case of, e.g., the β subunit, 10 μl of dilutedcDNA and 25 pmole each of adaptor primer and 17-base primer 1 (FIG. 17)are boiled, after which PCR is carried out 40 cycles of amplification(94° C., 40 sec; 58° C., 2 min; 72° C., 3 min) with TaqI polymerase. Asecond round of PCR is carried out as described above, except thatspecific primer 2 (FIG. 17) and the adapter primer are employed.Amplified PCR products are analyzed on an agarose gel, transferred to anylon membrane and probed with ³²P-labeled primer 2 (FIG. 17). Thehybridizing DNA fragment is eluted, extracted with phenol/chloroform,and used as a template for a second-round PCR amplification. Thisamplification is carried out in same cycles as described above, exceptthat 25 pmole each of adaptor and primer 2 is preferably substituted forprimers. This reamplified DNA is then purified, cleaved with RsaI orTaqI and subcloned into, e.g., M13 vectors for sequencing.

While the compositions and methods of this invention have been describedin terms of preferred embodiments, it will be apparent to those of skillin the art that variations may be applied to the composition, methodsand in the steps or in the sequence of steps of the method describedherein without departing from the concept, spirit and scope of theinvention. More specifically, it will be apparent that certain agentswhich are both chemically and physiologically related may be substitutedfor the agents described herein while the same or similar results wouldbe achieved. All such similar substitutes and modifications apparent tothose skilled in the art are deemed to be within the spirit, scope andconcept of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

REFERENCES

The references listed below are incorporated herein by reference to theextent that they supplement, explain, provide a background for or teachmethodology, techniques and/or compositions employed herein.

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52 1 25 PRT Artificial Sequence Description of Artificial SequenceSynthetic Peptide 1 Arg Ala Glu Trp Ala Asp Ile Asp Pro Val Pro Gln AsnAsp Gly Pro 1 5 10 15 Ser Pro Val Val Gln Ile Ile Tyr Ser 20 25 2 16 PRTArtificial Sequence Description of Artificial Sequence Synthetic Peptide2 Asp Ala Ile Glu Leu Asn Ala Ala Asn Tyr Thr Val Trp His Phe Arg 1 5 1015 3 8 PRT Artificial Sequence Description of Artificial SequenceSynthetic Peptide 3 Asn Tyr Gln Val Trp His His Arg 1 5 4 12 PRTArtificial Sequence Description of Artificial Sequence Synthetic Peptide4 His Phe Val Ile Ser Asn Thr Thr Gly Tyr Ser Asp 1 5 10 5 7 PRTArtificial Sequence Description of Artificial Sequence Synthetic Peptide5 Val Leu Val Glu Trp Leu Lys 1 5 6 13 PRT Artificial SequenceDescription of Artificial Sequence Synthetic Peptide 6 Leu Val Pro HisAsn Glu Ser Ala Trp Asn Tyr Leu Lys 1 5 10 7 20 PRT Artificial SequenceDescription of Artificial Sequence Synthetic Peptide 7 Ala Tyr Cys AlaAla Ser Val Ala Ser Leu Thr Asn Ile Ile Thr Pro 1 5 10 15 Asp Leu PheGlu 20 8 8 PRT Artificial Sequence Description of Artificial SequenceSynthetic Peptide 8 Leu Gln Tyr Leu Ser Ile Ala Gln 1 5 9 7 PRTArtificial Sequence Description of Artificial Sequence Synthetic Peptide9 Leu Leu Gln Trp Val Thr Ser 1 5 10 23 PRT Artificial SequenceDescription of Artificial Sequence Synthetic Peptide 10 Ile Gln Ala ThrThr His Phe Leu Gln Lys Pro Val Pro Gly Phe Glu 1 5 10 15 Glu Cys GluAsp Ala Val Thr 20 11 9 PRT Artificial Sequence Description ofArtificial Sequence Synthetic Peptide 11 Ile Gln Glu Val Phe Ser Ser TyrLys 1 5 12 4 PRT Artificial Sequence Description of Artificial SequenceSynthetic Peptide 12 Cys Val Leu Met 1 13 4 PRT Artificial SequenceDescription of Artificial Sequence Synthetic Peptide 13 Cys Cys Val Gln1 14 4 PRT Artificial Sequence Description of Artificial SequenceSynthetic Peptide 14 Cys Ile Ile Cys 1 15 4 PRT Artificial SequenceDescription of Artificial Sequence Synthetic Peptide 15 Cys Ile Ile Ser1 16 4 PRT Artificial Sequence Description of Artificial SequenceSynthetic Peptide 16 Cys Val Ile Ser 1 17 4 PRT Artificial SequenceDescription of Artificial Sequence Synthetic Peptide 17 Cys Val Leu Ser1 18 4 PRT Artificial Sequence Description of Artificial SequenceSynthetic Peptide 18 Cys Val Ile Ala 1 19 4 PRT Artificial SequenceDescription of Artificial Sequence Synthetic Peptide 19 Cys Val Ile Leu1 20 4 PRT Artificial Sequence Description of Artificial SequenceSynthetic Peptide 20 Cys Leu Ile Leu 1 21 4 PRT Artificial SequenceDescription of Artificial Sequence Synthetic Peptide 21 Cys Leu Leu Leu1 22 4 PRT Artificial Sequence Description of Artificial SequenceSynthetic Peptide 22 Cys Thr Val Ala 1 23 4 PRT Artificial SequenceDescription of Artificial Sequence Synthetic Peptide 23 Cys Val Ala Met1 24 4 PRT Artificial Sequence Description of Artificial SequenceSynthetic Peptide 24 Cys Lys Ile Met 1 25 4 PRT Artificial SequenceDescription of Artificial Sequence Synthetic Peptide 25 Cys Leu Ile Met1 26 4 PRT Artificial Sequence Description of Artificial SequenceSynthetic Peptide 26 Cys Val Leu Met 1 27 4 PRT Artificial SequenceDescription of Artificial Sequence Synthetic Peptide 27 Cys Phe Ile Met1 28 4 PRT Artificial Sequence Description of Artificial SequenceSynthetic Peptide 28 Cys Val Phe Met 1 29 4 PRT Artificial SequenceDescription of Artificial Sequence Synthetic Peptide 29 Cys Val Ile Phe1 30 4 PRT Artificial Sequence Description of Artificial SequenceSynthetic Peptide 30 Cys Glu Ile Met 1 31 4 PRT Artificial SequenceDescription of Artificial Sequence Synthetic Peptide 31 Cys Gly Ile Met1 32 4 PRT Artificial Sequence Description of Artificial SequenceSynthetic Peptide 32 Cys Pro Ile Met 1 33 4 PRT Artificial SequenceDescription of Artificial Sequence Synthetic Peptide 33 Cys Val Tyr Met1 34 4 PRT Artificial Sequence Description of Artificial SequenceSynthetic Peptide 34 Cys Val Thr Met 1 35 4 PRT Artificial SequenceDescription of Artificial Sequence Synthetic Peptide 35 Cys Val Pro Met1 36 4 PRT Artificial Sequence Description of Artificial SequenceSynthetic Peptide 36 Cys Val Ser Met 1 37 4 PRT Artificial SequenceDescription of Artificial Sequence Synthetic Peptide 37 Cys Val Ile Phe1 38 4 PRT Artificial Sequence Description of Artificial SequenceSynthetic Peptide 38 Cys Val Ile Val 1 39 4 PRT Artificial SequenceDescription of Artificial Sequence Synthetic Peptide 39 Cys Val Ile Pro1 40 4 PRT Artificial Sequence Description of Artificial SequenceSynthetic Peptide 40 Cys Val Ile Ile 1 41 7 PRT Artificial SequenceDescription of Artificial Sequence Synthetic Peptide 41 Lys Thr Ser CysVal Ile Met 1 5 42 4 PRT Artificial Sequence Description of ArtificialSequence Synthetic Peptide 42 Ser Val Ile Met 1 43 36 DNA ArtificialSequence Description of Artificial Sequence Synthetic Primer 43gaygcnatng arytaaacgc agccaactat acggtc 36 44 16 PRT Artificial SequenceDescription of Artificial Sequence Synthetic Peptide 44 Asp Ala Ile GluLeu Asn Ala Ala Asn Tyr Thr Val Trp His Phe Glu 1 5 10 15 45 14 DNAArtificial Sequence Description of Artificial Sequence Synthetic Primer45 ckraartgcc anac 14 46 38 DNA Artificial Sequence Description ofArtificial Sequence Synthetic Primer 46 tangagttaa acgcagccaa ctatacggtctggcactt 38 47 16 DNA Artificial Sequence Description of ArtificialSequence Synthetic Primer 47 gcgtactgtg cggctc 16 48 35 DNA ArtificialSequence Description of Artificial Sequence Synthetic Primer 48gcntaytgyg cngcctcagt gcctctctca ccaac 35 49 14 DNA Artificial SequenceDescription of Artificial Sequence Synthetic Primer 49 ggngtratna trtt14 50 37 DNA Artificial Sequence Description of Artificial SequenceSynthetic Primer 50 tactgtgcct cagtagcctc tctcaccaac atnatca 37 51 4 PRTArtificial Sequence Description of Artificial Sequence Synthetic Peptide51 Cys Ala Ile Leu 1 52 4 PRT Artificial Sequence Description ofArtificial Sequence Synthetic Peptide 52 Cys Ile Lys Ser 1

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for assaying for the presence offarnesyl transferase activity in a composition comprising (a) obtaininga composition suspected of having farnseyl transferase activity, whichactivity transfers a farnesyl moiety to a farnesyl acceptor protein orpeptide; and (b) testing the composition for activity in catalyzing thetransfer of a farnesyl moiety to a farnesyl acceptor protein or peptide,wherein such activity indicates the presence of farnesyl transferase insaid composition.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein said farnesyl moietyis transferred from farnesyl pyrophosphate.
 3. The method of claim 2,wherein said farnesyl pyrophosphate contains a label on the farnesylmoiety.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein said farnesyl acceptor proteinor peptide comprises a carboxy terminal sequence of -C-A-A-X, wherein:C=cysteine; A=an aliphatic or hydroxy amino acid; and X=any amino acid.5. The method of claim 4, wherein said farnesyl acceptor protein orpeptide comprises a p21^(ras) protein.
 6. The method of claim 4, whereinsaid farnesyl acceptor protein or peptide comprises a peptide of atleast 4 amino acids in length.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein thefarnesyl acceptor protein or peptide comprises CVIM; KKSKTKCVIM; TKCVIM;RASNRSCAIM; TQSPQNCSIM; CIIM; CVVM; or CVLS.